Hurricane Iota Slams Into Central America As Region Tries Recovering From Hurricane Eta
Update November 19, 2020
As Central America works to recover from Hurricane Eta, the region was devastated again by Hurricane Iota. Hurricanes of this strength this late in the season are extremely rare. The death toll is coming in from the storm battered region.
Nicaragua and other Central American countries are reeling from a second massive storm.
More than 40 deaths have already been reported from Hurricane Iota. Hurricane Eta killed 189 people across several countries in Central America. Iota made landfall in Nicaragua as a stronger storm than Eta, which also made landfall in Nicaragua. Much like Eta, Iotas has triggered landslides in the region. The devastation left by the two storms is in the billions as rescues are currently underway to find hundreds of missing people.
“I think you’re going to be seeing an increase in migration month after month after month because of the compounding nature of this,” Giovanni Bassu regional representative for Central America for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), told Reuters.
Update November 6, 2020
Hurricane Eta slammed into Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 mph. It quickly dropped to a Category 2 but continued to bring devastating rains to the rest of Central America for days. About 50 people in Central America have died.
Central America is reeling from the devastating impact of Hurricane Eta.
Hurricane Eta made landfall Nov. 3 as a Category 4 storm. Millions of Central Americans were in the path of the storm that brought devastating winds and rains. Landslides throughout the area have resulted in dozens of deaths and the rain has left tremendous flooding from Panama to Guatemala.
The storm has now shifted and is passing over Cuba before hitting Florida Monday. The storm is bringing similarly devastating floods to the Caribbean island.
There are ways to keep helping the victims of Hurricane Eta.
Several NGOs and humanitarian organizations are already taking donations to help those affected by the storm. If you would like to help, there is also a GoFundMe raising money for the Ruth Paz Foundation. You can also donate to Food For The Poor, which is sending aid to Hondurans affected by the storm.
The recent hurricane season has been intense and filled with powerful storm. The latest storm to make landfall is Hurricane Eta. The story made landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 5 hurricane bringin devastating winds and rain.
A Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Nicaragua as the U.S. presidential election was fully underway.
Hurricanes this late in the year are very rare. More rare is the intensity the storm develop so close to shore. Hurricane season in the Atlantic is June to November but 2020 has been a very active season. There have been 12 named hurricanes, five of which were Category 3 and above.
Images of Hurrcane Eta show a storm rapidly intensifying right before making landfall.
The hurricane has sustained winds of 140 mph when it made landfall and has dropped since. Eta is currently a Category 2 hurricane and is hovering over Central America bring more wind and rain damage. Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize are all feeling the storm as it slowly makes its way through Central America.
Eta is the third major hurricane since October.
Part of Nicaragua’s coastline experienced 21-foot storm surges as the country braced for the storm. Hurricane warnings covered 150 miles of Nicaragua’s coastline. More than 1 million people were affected by the the storm that is expected to make its way to Florida on Monday as a tropical storm.
Some Twitter users have been able to share some of the damage being done.
The storm started to create flooding and wind damage before making landfall. The storm was so strong before landfall that various countries were feeling the effects as it moved through the Caribbean.
If you want to help those affected, you can start with the American Red Cross.
The American Red Cross is already mobilizing to help the people of Central America. We will update you as more organizations start efforts to help Central America recover from this hurricane in the midst of a pandemic.
